Meltdown: Danes call off job fair
Following global economic turbulence, the Confederation of Danish Industry has squashed plans for a job fair, which it was to soon hold in Delhi with help from the Danish embassy and the Indian government, reports Rahat Bano.
Following global economic turbulence, the Confederation of Danish Industry has squashed plans for a job fair, which it was to soon hold in Delhi with help from the Danish embassy and the Indian government.
The industry body, or DI as it’s known, called off the fair, slated for November 28, as “They (DI) couldn't find enough Danish companies to take part,” said Danny Annan, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Denmark. This was seconded by an official from the Indian Ministry of International and Overseas affairs on conditions of anonymity.
Martin Steen Kabongo, Head of Advisory Services, DI confirmed that the fair has been cancelled due to the financial crisis.
“One of the five companies which had registered for the fair cancelled its participation,” he said.
Declining to name the organisation, Kabungo said it was initially expected to offer the maximum number of jobs—about 35—at the fair.
Employers who were to be present at the fair represented energy, information and mobile technology, recruitment (executive search firm), and medical sectors and were to recruit 60 to 100 people in all, said Kabungo.
Earlier this month, an agency had reported that the well-off Nordic country’s economy was expected “to at least stagnate in 2009”.
With 32,000 to 35,00 vacancies across various sectors, the small nation faces manpower shortages, particularly of IT specialists, engineers, doctors and nurses, said Per Asp Larsen, First Secretary (Migration), Royal Danish Embassy, and head of the Work-in-Denmark Centre.
However, in a positive development at least for India, the Danish government is evidently keen to import local talent.
India is the first non-European Union country Denmark is reaching out to recruit, said Kabongo.
The first Work in Denmark Centre in the world materialised, as a pilot project, at the Indian embassy on October 23, 2008. Different schemes are underway to woo qualified people.
India is the first non-European Union country Denmark is reaching out to recruit, pointed out Kabongo. According to embassy data, about 6,000-8,000 Indians work in Denmark and their ranks have been swelling for the past few years.
Incidentally, the ministry of International and Overseas affairs and Denmark have concluded negotiations on a Labour Mobility Partnership, to be signed in the first half of 2009.